Bears win a wacky one against the Broncos, 37-34

Monday

Nov 26, 2007 at 12:01 AM

The Chicago Bears offense didn't do much until the final 10 minutes or so of play Sunday. That was enough. The Bears defense didn't really stop the Denver Broncos’ offense until the last couple of possessions. That was just enough.

Reed Schreck

The Chicago Bears offense didn't do much until the final 10 minutes or so of play Sunday. That was enough.

The Bears defense didn't really stop the Denver Broncos’ offense until the last couple of possessions. That was just enough.

Chicago's special teams never stopped, and that was more than enough. That's why the Bears were able to pull off an improbable 37-34 overtime victory and legitimately think playoffs without being fitted for straight jackets.

Down 34-20 with less than six minutes to play, the game and the season looked as gloomy as the cold, drizzly weather at Soldier Field.

"No, not really," tight end Desmond Clark said when asked if it was hard to stay positive at that point. "It was the only thought you could think. There are no quitters in this room.
"I'm quite sure everyone on the field was thinking we've got to do it now. We didn't want to come in and say our season possibly is over."

The main reason they had hope was -- and this comes as no surprise -- Devin Hester. He returned a punt 75 yards for a touchdown. He returned a kickoff 88 yards for a touchdown. He broke Gale Sayers' franchise career record for kick return touchdowns (eight) -- in less than two seasons in uniform, as he now has 10.

His two scores Sunday will be talked about for ages. Without them, Charles Tillman's punt block that triggered the comeback wouldn't have mattered. But it did -- because of Hester's earlier exploits.

Talk in the Bears locker room and special teams meetings this week concerned Broncos punter Todd Sauerbrun's comments in the Denver Post. He said they wouldn't be "chicken (bleep)" and not kick to Hester. Well they did, and now the Broncos are mince meat.

"Teams play mind games," Hester said. "Teams say they'll kick it to you and don't. Teams say they aren't going to kick it and do so.

"They say what they want to say to get the word out. We just treat it like any other game -- we plan on them kicking it to us."

Hester's highlights dominated the action, but weren't the only clips produced. Tillman blocked Sauerbrun's punt with 7:14 left in regulation. Then came backup running back Adrian Peterson's 4-yard touchdown run with 5:17 left that made it 34-27. He powered his way for what seemed like a minute while never stopping those legs.

After Chicago held, it took over at its own 35 with 2:58 to go. Twelve plays later, Bernard Berrian caught a 3-yard touchdown pass on fourth-and-goal with 28 seconds on the clock. The celebrating had to withstand a review.

"I knew it was a touchdown definitely," said Berrian, as he reached toward the sideline to catch the ball while dragging his right foot and getting his left knee down inbounds. "Sometimes replays don't always go the way you want them to."

Folded hands may have helped.

"There were quite a few prayers going out," head coach Lovie Smith said about the wait for the ruling.

Then came Rex Grossman hitting tight end Desmond Clark for a 39-yard gain to the Denver 37 on the first snap of overtime.

"I knew it'd be open -- either me or (fullback) Jason (McKie) out in the flat," Clark said. "It was something I saw earlier. I was wide-open the first time we ran it. I'm just glad that they came back to it."

At that point, the crowd of 62,148 -- and the Bears players -- could sense what was happening.

"Sometimes, when you get a head of steam, it's hard to be stopped," Grossman said. "Momentum is a crazy thing."

Six plays later, Robbie Gould nailed a 39-yard field goal and sent Denver (5-6) back to Mile High country wondering how it squandered such an opportunity in the AFC West race.

"Being the football team that we think we are, you've got to be able to put those games away," Broncos coach Mike Shanahan told reporters.

Chicago (5-6) now can look forward to facing the New York Giants at home next Sunday, knowing it's more than just mathematically alive in the NFC wild-card chase after such an emotional win.

"It's only one step out of six," Clark said. "We've still got five more steps (games) to take to get to the top of the mountain where we want to go."

It just doesn't look quite as high now.

Reed Schreck is the NFL writer for the Rockford Register Star. Contact him at 815-987-1381 or rschreck@rrstar.com.